Brief encounter: Has my neighbour abandoned his land?

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Q Beside our garage block is a small piece of land that sits outside our boundary. I am told that years ago one of the residents traced the owner in order to buy the land, but later decided not to pursue it. The land would now be useful to us. Is there a time limit, after which land that has not been looked after is lost by the owner?

A The legal principle is known as adverse possession. Historically, the actual or “paper” owner of land could not bring a claim to evict a squatter if squatters had occupied it